I've enjoyed reading the discussion here about Electricity. A lot of the listers have really given a lot of thought to their interpretations, and the multiple points of view have enhanced my appreciation for this song. It has always been one of my favorites, but I've never delved too deeply into the meaning of the lyrics beyond the basic premise of an electrical outage as a metaphor for a crashed romance.
Looking and listening now, I think I agree with those of you who see Joni, or the narrator, as an observer of the story rather than a participant. It seems like she's looking at the dissolution of a relationship between two other people, and when the woman asks for the narrator's advice (And she holds out her flashlight / And she shines it on me / She wants me to tell her / What the trouble might be), it causes the narrator to reflect on a time when she was in a similar situation, apparently with the same man. But all she can do is relate her own experience (We once loved together...) without offering any advice that will help the other woman fix it. Then the last verse leaves the woman turning back to the man and asking him to help put the relationship back together. Anyway, that's my take, but I find that with Joni's songs, as with Dylan's, many interpretations and points of view can have equal validity. Thanks, Matt, for starting the discussion. Bob > Siquomb, isn't she?
